Tempt Yourself Thin

The best way to get lean just might be to give in to temptation—to tantalize yourself with the reward of new clothes, a special getaway, even a new bike. Meet six Bicycling readers who shed a total of nearly 650 pounds with the promise of a big payoff, discover their secrets for transforming into fit cyclists, and learn about the intriguing science of incentive-based weight loss.Lisa MarshallDecember 13, 2013

John Esguerra had to rest after two miles on his first ride since childhood. (Mathew Scott)

John Esguerra
Northridge, California

REWARD: A series of new bikes POUNDS LOST: 100

As an average-build kid growing up in Manila, Philippines, John Esguerra would meet his buddies after school to pedal the dirt roads and vast rice fields near his neighborhood. “It was about freedom and the chance to explore new things,” says the 44-year-old IT systems administrator.

But after his family relocated to Los Angeles when he was 17, he traded bike rides for late-night partying and home-cooked meals for Carl’s Jr. And—despite having lost his father at age 46 to lung ­cancer—John began smoking half a pack a day. By his 18th birthday he’d gained 25 pounds. By his 30s, he was pushing 300.

On the eve of his 40th birthday, John awoke with severe heartburn that lingered for weeks, burning his throat with every swallow. “Until that point,” says the father of two, “I thought I was invincible.”

With the help of smoking-­cessation medication, he quit cigarettes. After he went six weeks without lighting up, he took the hundreds of dollars he would have spent on smokes and sprang for a new Diamondback Insight hybrid.

On his first ride—a 5-mile commute to work—he had to pull over at mile 2. “I literally thought I was going to pass out,” he says. “I felt like my chest was being split open.” Yet, as he rode home later that day, he caught a glimmer of something joyful. “I thought, I remember this feeling.” Within a month, he was riding 10 to 15 miles twice a week, sticking to flat terrain. Within six months, he was pedaling as many as 30 miles three times a week with a few hills thrown in. Within a year, he was hammering out 40 to 60 miles up to four times a week. Meanwhile, he swore off soda, replaced his beloved white rice with more nutritious quinoa, and traded unhealthy snacks like Doritos for raw almonds.

By 2010, he’d lost 60 pounds—a milestone he celebrated with a new Marin Alpine Trail 29er mountain bike. By 2011, he’d shaved off another 40 and rewarded himself by buying a superlight carbon road-bike frame on eBay. For keeping the weight off, he hit a Fourth of July sale last year and upgraded from his first mountain bike to a Giant Trance X 29er 2.

After work, he now dons a headlamp, switches on his handlebar lights, and joins a new group of friends for night rides. “Yeah, it can be expensive, especially when you get hooked on it,” he says. “But unlike my previous expensive habits, this is contributing to my life, not my death.”

John’s Tips
1. “I avoid white food. White equals sugar and starch. This makes it easier to choose healthy foods without having to read labels or count ­calories.”
2. “When I first started, I wrote down my daily habits from the moment I woke up until bedtime. It made me realize all the routines I had to break.”
3. Once you’ve reaped your reward, use it as incentive to keep the weight off. “I work hard to prove every bike is worth all the money I paid for it.”